Policy Watch

A report by the King’s Fund called on acute trust leaders to work closely with primary care, community services and social care in order to overcome the challenge of rising demand. Specifically, the report found major problems with hospitals engaging with primary care, and noted that where there have been successes there have been significant efforts to build relationships with GPs.

The Home Affairs Committee found that despite the increased awareness of FGM in the UK, there had been no successful prosecutions in the last 20 years. The report called on the Royal College of GPs to encourage its members to report cases of FGM and to direct doctors to where there is adequate training on FGM. Additionally, the report called for a clarification in the law that FGM is a criminal offence.

The Richmond Group called on the government to improve care for people with long term conditions (LTCs). The report for the coalition of ten health and social care charities concluded that the state of care for the 15 million people with LTCs was inconsistent, and around 60 per cent of sufferers stated their daily life was limited. The coalition argued that it should be a high priority for the NHS as LTCs make up half of all GP appointments.

RCN and RPS work together to help patients make the most of their medicines (RPS)

The Royal College of Nursing and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society have published a report on how patients can make the most of their medicines. The report recommends that nurses and pharmacists work together to improve patients’ adherence to their medicines, reduce medication errors and reduce medicine wastage.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb announced a blue-print to improve youth mental health care over the next five years. The report proposes that self-help should be made available through online tools and apps, should continue into the early 20s and urges better mental health training for health professionals, including GPs.